Is Hyundai better than Toyota and Honda? New models suggest yes
02-09-10, 02:09 PM
#76
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What is most impressive to me is that seems Hyundai is very quick to react to what the market is doing. Next up Hyundai is going to get into the hybrid game. They already had an outstanding Genesis and coupe, and upcoming Sonata is going push family car forward
02-09-10, 02:12 PM
#78
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Concluding "better" is subjective, but yes I do recognize what Hyundai has accomplished in recent years. I also see the Genesis and new Sonata as serious steps up for Hyundai.
02-09-10, 02:18 PM
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Style is subjective, and Hyundai does not have a clear, consistent styling theme. Yes Hyundai offers great fuel efficiency, but so do a number of automakers. If you are looking for the most fuel efficient car period, Hyundai does not offer anything like that. None of Hyundai's cars exceed 40 mpg EPA, while some of the competition offers such models.
Hyundai's new design language is called 'fluidic sculpture'. on sonata, new accent & elantra. you can see some on tucson too. is it original? no. is a blatant copy? absolutely not. it looks great if you ask me. i'm a big fan of hyundai's new design over current bland offering.
and you will see more 'hexagon grill' from hyundai.
tucson, hed-5, and more on smaller cars. and i expect santa fe and new veracruz to have hexagon grill too. hexagon grill design came from 2006 arnejs concept. arnejs is inspired by audi's uni grill.
02-09-10, 02:31 PM
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Toyota, Honda, Nissan, VW, even GM and Ford, they all offer some unique attributes and characteristics with their vehicles.
02-09-10, 02:32 PM
#81
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I think it's pretty clear joe80 you love Hyundai and TRDFantasy loves Toyota. 
Lets move forward! 
Lets move forward!
02-09-10, 02:35 PM
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more interesting design(subjective of course, but people are not talking about hyundai), more HP, more torque, better fuel economy, better ride, higher quality materials, better paint job, better weight to power ratio. shall i go on?
didn't you read the 1st post? these new models are competitive in every possible ways. it may not be a class leader, but it won't finish dead last either.
02-09-10, 02:44 PM
#83
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02-09-10, 02:45 PM
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One model, one gearbox, one helluva nice car
Hyundai moved firmly and further up the ranks of luxury cars in Africa this week with the launch in Oman of its 2010 Sonata sedan, a 4.82m challenge to the Mazda6 and Honda Accord, that will reach South African showrooms in April.
With the car's size, looks, equipment and style you might be tempted to ask: "Why not BMW's Fives or Mercedes C Class?" So let's get that out of the way right now: sorry to disappoint, but even with the car's expected "close to R300 000" sticker price it still falls short of that level… but you'd better believe it's getting there.
It's very attractively styled but Merc, BMW and Audi are still streets ahead on perceived build quality and engine power and performance
Only one model will be available in South Africa - and it's an auto
. But as a normal family car, I doubt any buyer will be disappointed with this Sonata.
Only one model will be available in South Africa and I drove one through the stunningly ragged and rugged mountains and along the Arabian Sea coast of Oman's capital, Muscat, on Monday.
Hyundai says the car took five years to come to production and is now claiming best-in-class status for fuel economy and crash protection. It's also 20cm longer than its predecessor, is good for a sub-10sec sprint to 100km/h and, under ideal conditions, will stop from that speed in less than 43m.
SA units will be supplied with the 2.4-litre Theta II 133kW petrol engine connected to Hyundai's own in-house six-speed auto/manual sequential transmission that comes with shift paddles behind the steering wheel
SA units will be supplied with the 2.4-litre Theta II 133kW petrol engine
. Shift positions are shown on a digital display on the instrument panel.
"The strength of the design," Hyundai says, "is in its unique layout which makes it smaller, more compact and lighter than any other six-speed transmission on the market."
Driving impressions after about 150km of unstressed freeways and free-flowing urban main roads? Don't expect free-revving sports-car performance; despite Hyundai's overseas marketing team's boss Bryan Woo's claim at the media conference that this latest Sonata, "with its coupe-like profile", is "no longer quiet and traditional and has moved towards eye-catching style".
Sure, it'll easily cruise in Europe at 200km/h, and just as surely it's a really pretty machine, but it's also really for a comfortable, middle-income ride with mom and three kids.
All the expected goodies are in the package: power windows and mirrors, leather, power driving seat with heating for it and its neighbour, excellent sound system, Bluetooth phone connection, full house of crash bags, alloy rims and good fuel economy governed, if you wish, by what Hyundai calls an 'ECO coach' which suggests gear-change time on a manual model or, on an auto, a red/white/green gauge that tells you when to lift foot.
'ALTERNATIOR MANAGER'
I remember having one of those back in the 1970's – an Econometer, I think it was called…anyway, Hyundai reckons you can save anywhere from seven to 17 percent on your fuel bill – as if that matters here in Oman were petrol is about R2/litre.
The car also has an "alternator management system" that disengages a clutch if the battery is fully charged to allow charging power to stay in the engine.
The Sonata rides on Macpherson struts up front coil springs at the rear but if the ride does go awry than the driver has the support of electronic stability control, hill-start assistance and reserve braking pressure.
'NOT AN OPTION
It was asked at the media conference if, given the huge strides Hyundai has taken in recent years, whether a separate luxury division, such as Toyota's Lexus brand and Nissan's Infiniti, would appear? Not according to a Hyundai spokesman at the Omani launch.
"A separate quality brand such as Lexus will not be an option," the spokesman said at a media briefing before half the assembled international journalists headed out on a ride-'n-drive on the country's sweeping roads while the others disappeared into the mountains in a convoy of ix35 SUV's.
"We have already swollen from small to large but will differentiate models such as the Hyundai Genesis through a separate sales channel rather than a separate brand."
02-09-10, 03:20 PM
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02-09-10, 03:27 PM
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agreed. people are stuck in the past. car companies bring out great models year after year. just look at what ford is doing. I bet some people in this board have not driven Ford lately.
02-09-10, 03:37 PM
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Also given the huge changes Hyundai is making with every model, it has me worried. A lot of their redesigns seem rushed, and when you look at the little details, the really small details in the exterior and interior you see plenty of evidence of rushed design, and "form over function" which is becoming more prevalent with Hyundai models.
The worry also for Hyundai's image and reputation is that their next-gen models could be almost completely unrecognizable from the previous generation models, which could alienate people.
The worry also for Hyundai's image and reputation is that their next-gen models could be almost completely unrecognizable from the previous generation models, which could alienate people.
-so are you suggesting hyundai to design half-assed car which is reminiscent of previous bland offerings? what's fun in that? I love hyundai's bold new design direction. it makes people to talk about hyundai which i believe is a great thing. would any one talk about new sonata if it was an evolution of last gen? frankly, i think these new design directions are very exciting.
02-09-10, 03:44 PM
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExCC_kcQ2bE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLlmr...eature=related
-what part of the design is rushed on sonata or new tucson? I think both of them are much better than previous sonata and tucson in terms of build quality, materials, and design. nothing 'rushed' about these 2 IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLlmr...eature=related
-what part of the design is rushed on sonata or new tucson? I think both of them are much better than previous sonata and tucson in terms of build quality, materials, and design. nothing 'rushed' about these 2 IMO.